BENGALURU: Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Thursday put a lid on speculation about his two-day trip to the national capital, clarifying that he had no plans to meet any top leaders of the party or hold talks on cabinet expansion.
With the party high command busy with developments in Maharashtra, where the BJP is within sniffing distance of power, and the July 18 Presidential polls, Bommai is unlikely to get an appointment with the central leadership to discuss Karnataka developments.
In fact, BJP National President J P Nadda and PM Narendra Modi had visited the state in quick succession recently. “It is not an occasion to discuss this, as the party high command is busy with Presidential polls. I have come to Delhi on the instructions of the party brass, as have all party chief ministers, to be present when our Presidential candidate files nomination papers,” he told reporters in Delhi.
“Reports of ministry expansion in the media is usual whenever I visit Delhi. I have not met the party top brass and will let you know when it happens,” he said with some sarcasm. Bommai will sign the nomination papers of NDA Presidential candidate Droupadi Murmu as one of the proposers. Following the party’s instructions, Transport Minister B Sriramulu and former minister Raju Gowda, both from the ST community, and PWD minister Govind Karjol, from the SC community, will join Bommai in New Delhi during the filing of papers. It is to send out a message that the BJP stands by SC/ST communities, and chose an ST woman as its presidential candidate.
After nomination papers are filed around 11am Friday, Bommai will return to Bengaluru around 4.30pm. But between these events, Bommai is likely to meet some Union ministers, including those from the state. He may also get a chance to meet the high command, as his appointment with Nadda was fixed earlier, to discuss certain issues in confidence, sources said.